'Ślęza' (-
Polish,
German: ''Lohe'') is a 78.6 km long
river in
Lower Silesia, southern
Poland, a left tributary of the
Oder. It starts in the Niemcza Hills (''Wzgórza Niemczańskie''), part of the
Sudete Highlands (''Przedgórze Sudeckie''), and flows near
Mount Ślęża through the
Silesian Lowland (''Nizinia Śląska'') and enters the Oder in
Wrocław.
The most important tributary is: Mała Ślęza ("Small Ślęza"). The most important towns on the river are:
Niemcza,
Tyniec nad Ślęzą,
Jordanów Śląski and Wrocław.
The name probably is derived from a
Silesian word meaning "wet swampy place". In a
papal bull from
Hadrian IV in
1155 the river is called the 'Selenza'.
The names of the Ślęza and Mount Ślęża are both of Silesian origin, although the Ślęza is spelled with a standard
Z and Mount Ślęża is spelled with a
Ż diacritic - English zh.